A Frenzy of Hostage Taking Eight are kidnaped in Beirut after a hijack suspect's arrest

For the small knot of foreigners still crazy or desperate enough to brave the mean streets of Beirut, it was one of the worst weeks in memory. In the short span of eight days, eight new hostages were swept up in a frightening new paroxysm of terrorist kidnapings. Almost any foreigner was fair game, and the reign of terror struck almost anywhere in the tortured city, from the backseat of a taxicab to a sun-drenched sidewalk, from a quiet hotel room to a seat of higher learning.

^ The first victim was Rudolf Cordes, a West German businessman, who was pulled...